Utterly Perplexing ‘Ame-Comi’ Costumes Revealed

Here at ComicsAlliance, we like to keep up with the litany of inexplicable choices that is the Sexy Halloween Costume industry, and even though that holiday's still eight months away, the next bold move was revealed today by our friends over at Topless Robot:

Yep: a line of costumes based on DC Direct's Ame-Comi statues.

Over at the CostumeCraze blog -- which also revealed a line of DC Comics themed corsets because at this point, why not? -- it's explained that the Ame-Comi line "brings the style of Japanese Manga to DC Comics' American superheroes," but it sort of underplays the kookiness of the fact that these are costumes based on statues only tangentially based on actual super-heroes.

That said, I've got to admit that they did a bang-up job translating the fetishtastic Ame-Comi statue designs to real-life costumes. Catch a better look, and some speculation on what they might be going for next, after the jump!First up, we've got Wonder Woman:

Wonder Woman stands alone by being one of the only characters whose Ame-Comi version actually covers more than her regular costume, and I have to admit, I actually really like this design for her.

Next up, Catwoman:

The Ame-Comi version of Catwoman is loosely based on the current Darwyn Cooke redesign that she sported on dozens of covers by Adam Hughes. Apparently, skin-tight vinyl just wasn't sexy enough for anime unless it was in the shape of a swimsuit and came with a handful of extra straps and buckles.

Finally -- at least for this first round of reveals -- we have Supergirl:

I'm not exactly sure what the photographer said to get a look that surly out of a costume model, but I'm guessing it had something to do with asking her if they could find an even more ridiculous set of heels for her to wear during the shoot.

As mystifying as it is that these costumes actually exist, I'm actually really impressed with them. They look a heck of a lot more high quality than the usual offerings, and it looks like they're really going for accuracy to the source material, as strange as that source material might be.

But in addition to these three, DC Direct made a couple dozen Ame-Comi statues, so presumably, these are only the tip of the sexy costume iceberg. So where do they go next?

The obvious choice would be Batgirl...

...but I'm going to go ahead and say that this one just isn't going to happen, thanks to one crucial design flaw: No skirt. As we've seen, in order for a costume to be considered "sexy" and/or "sassy," it needs a skirt. Frankly, I'm surprised Catwoman made it through, but bare legs go a long way.

Robin, however, would fit right in:

They've already got a "Sexy Robin" costume that's pretty woefully inadequate. I mean, it doesn't even have argyle stockings and gloves. Clearly, that's a change that needs to be made.

Another obvious choice would seem to be the Ame-Comi version of The Joker...

...but again, I can't see this one happening. Sure, it hits all the fetish-bait elements of a sexy costume -- corset, stockings, steampunk knicknacks, spats -- and I have seen similar costumes done very well by cosplayers, but for mass production, it just seems way too busy. There's a lot going on here, and even suggesting that customers purchase a kit for realistic facial scars isn't going to make up for not having just the right purple top hat to complete the ensemble.

The most unlikely of all, though, is probably Mera: